Nothing Says ‘Buy’ Like ‘Free Shipping’

EVEN in a country where Christmas trees start appearing in October, L. L. Bean may have set a record for beginning the holiday marketing blitz early by starting a free shipping promotion last month.

But the promotion also set the bar higher than many competing online retailers might have liked.

Bean’s free-shipping offer comes with no minimum purchase requirements. That is in stark contrast to the strings-attached shipping offers used by more than 80 percent of online merchants last year, which left some consumers wondering about the exact meaning of “free.”